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Esophageal Cancer Surgery

shelbydlphn

Posts: 1
Joined: May 2008

May 23, 2008 - 6:22 am

Mine was phase 1 that required surgery. I would be happy to put fears to rest and help explain my surgery to anyone it might help. To everyone, stay strong and positive and laugh when it hurts. God never leaves your side or misses a prayer, I am proof!

I to had phase 1 and had surgery and sometimes I wonder how come I got so lucky. If you want to swap stories we can do it here or email me at robertpearli@msn.com I also have no problem discussing the surgery or onything else involved.
Bob

I have just finished 3 weeks of intense Chemo & Radiation. I am now trying to heal before surgery, but my stage 4 esophageal & stomach cancer is pretty advanced. The way the surgery was described by the surgeon is to totally remove the esophagus & the top 1/3 of my stomach and then use the rest of my stomach/large intestines to make a new esophagus. This seems very desperate with many potential disasters. The last 6 weeks have been pure torture. What is your quality of life like? What are your limits and pain level like? What can you eat? How do you sleep? As you can tell I am a little nervous. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

You are not likely to get responses on the discussion link that you have written 3X on today. It is actually 10 years old, and only one has written in the last year. That would be “tanseyj”. So I’ve taken the liberty of putting your post on a “new topic forum” here and given you several references which should be helpful. There are several stage IV EC patients who write regularly, but they are not posting at this particular discussion topic. So please see my remarks to you at this link.

I hope you find all the information you need to make the best possible decisions regarding surgeons, reputable hospitals, and types of treatments for the different stages of Esophageal Cancer. The situation you describe with cancer of the stomach and cancer of the Esophagus would be a Stage IV diagnosis, and not usually recommended for anything more than palliative treatments. But before you go forward with surgery, be sure you have had a second opinion. This is major – major surgery.

Wishing for you all the best,

Loretta (William’s wife) William is now into his 16th year of survival from EC, Adenocarcinoma at the Gastroesophageal Junction, (T3N1M0) He has had no complications—thank the Lord.

Hello, I just joined. I am so sorry to hear about your cancer. My husband was just diagnosed in January and is currently going through chemo and radiation. his doctors also recommend surgery to remove his esophagus after the chemo/rad treatments. He also is dreading the surgery and very concerned about quality of life afterwards and considering not having the surgery. Can you tell me a little about how you are doing post surgery? How difficult was recovery, are you still having difficulty trying to eat? How dibillitated has it left you? Do you feel you made the right choice? We have so many questions and would certainly appreciate any feedback you could share. He isn't home right now, but I will show him this site and I know he will sign up and register, he has been looking for this type of forum so that he can have dialog with others in his same situation.

I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2009. I was Stage IIB with a 2 cm tumor at the grastroesophagel junction. I had an Ivor Lewis esophagectomy in December of 2009. I have to say the surgery was extensive and recovery took almost a year before I was back to where I was before surgery. My recovery was slowed by the fact that I had chemotherapy after my surgery and that slowed the process of healing from surgery and extended the time it took me to regain some of the weight I lost after surgery.

I can now do all the things I did prior to surgery and eat pretty much anything I want in moderation. The major lifestyle change is that I now eat seven small meals a day rather than 3 larger meals. It does take some time to adjust to your new digestive sytem and the first year or two after surgery is a process of trial and error to find out what works best. I also have to sleep at a 45 degree angle to guard against reflux as I no longer have a lower esophageal sphincter to keep food from comming up when I lie down.

I would also note that this web site does not get as much traffic as it used to and I would suggest you post your question in the esophageal cancer section of Smart Patients. com. You will find many participants there that have had surgery much more recently than I have that can give youu "more current" experience: https://www.smartpatients.com/conversations

March 13th marks the 7-year anniversary of my Ivor Lewis surgery. Like you, I was very nervous about my surgery and all the warnings that it was life-changing. Like Paul posted, I'm also doing everything I did before surgery. It is a major surgery and takes a long time to fully recover. I was in the hospital for 10 days. I had a feeding tube when I was released, but didn't use it because I was able to tolerate liquids by mouth. I went back to work at a desk job about 2-1/2 months after surgery, but I should have waited a few more weeks. I was still very weak and had episodes of "dumping." I also had a 60 mile one-way commute to work. Other than sleeping on an incline and eating much smaller meals, and giving up my previously favorite spicy foods, my lifestyle hasn't changed as a result of the surgery. I definitely feel I made the right choice to have the surgery!

If you want more information, please feel free to send me a message on CSN Email and I will give you my contact information. I know it helped me to talk to someone that had gone through the process.

Hi Katanna this is Frank I have stage one cancer and will have surgery to remove my esophgaus on the the 19th of Sept the doctor is going to remove all of it if she can how difficult was the recover and the side affect ? Thanks Frank

My Dad was diagnosed w/ stage 4 EC this past Father's Day - Happy Father's Day, right? We are on our last week of treatment, hopefully. When we are done, we get to see if the treatments helped any. He's had an awful time with the treatments. He's a realist and given what the doctors have told him, his chances for surviving aren't very good. I just wonder if the chances are so slim, why put someone through all of this crap? I am glad to see that you are a survivor of this and hope that you continue to stay healthy!! It would be nice to hear from you or anyone that has had to deal with this.

I was just diagnosed with stage 3 esophegeal cancer. Have seen 2 oncololists who both reccommend chemo and radiation therepy followed by surgery. Will be going to Memorial Sloan Kettering next week to meet with their top gastro oncologist. I am 72 and do not think I can handle such extensive surgery. Any suggestions or support you can give me will be appreciated.

I am a Survivor! My cancer disappeared after chemo and radiation. After finding a tiny 'spot' under my armpit, surgery was denied. Doctor said forever? But after more chemo it was gone? A year after the date of the original surgery, I had the Ivor Lewis procedure. Removed Esophagus and had stomach attached to neck. Read my webpage of my battle with the cancer: http://thetanseys.webs.com/Cancer%20Update.htm Cancer updates from jy FB page with pictures and anecdotes about my life.Lot's of cancer victims have read my experience and it has given them hope! It can be beat! Cheers.

Katanna, I was just browsing and noticed you have survived stage IV EC. Had it gone to your nodes or to other organs? My husband was dx'd in February 2008. They said since he was stage IV that he couldn't have radiation or surgery. He has had excellent response to chemo - Oxaliplatin, Taxotere and 5FU (5FU 46 hours infusion at home every 2 weeks). Had an endo last week and doc said no cancer in esophagus and 90% gone from stomach. He said he sees just a little bit at the top of his stomach. We are elated. Still worried though. When he asked his onc at diagnosis if he has 5 years, she said maybe half that. I was just wondering what was your situation, because I am so encouraged by the fact that you were stage IV and still her after 5 years. We pray for that. I would be interested if you wouldn't mind explaining your situation to me in an email. My email is cyn0418@aol.com. By the way, my husband just turned 59 years old and healthy as an ox prior to diagnosis. He is still pretty fit and works outside (though he is retired) doing paver stone landscaping at our house every day since July. Very active!!! Thanks in advance for your input. By the way, he was diagnosed stage IV on PET scan with retroperitoneal nodes and supraclavicular nodes involvement only - no other organ involvement.

I just recently joined this site after my brother was recently diagnosed with stage 1V esophageal cancer. He just finished his radiation treatments and his second chemo therapy.
He has a JGpeg tube and still can not really eat, has pain still at the esophagus tumor site. If you have time and you are still on this site, I would really appreciate your input and if possible your treatment and where you had gone, if possible\
Thank you for sharing your experiences with me and the people on this site whom I am sure have benefitted immensely

My Nana was just diagnosed with Stage 4 esophageal cancer. It's been really hard for us. You're story is very inspirational. Please if you are still around on this site contact me! What was your treatment? It's so so inspirational to see that you have been so succesfful thanks for giving me hope!

What treatment did you go through at Stage IV and survival after 5 years? With or without surgery? Were there any complications?

FYI, I have stage IV Esophageal cancer. I've already had both Chemo and Radiation treatments followed by a PET scan (one month after the last radiation, 8/17,2016), the scan took place 9/12. I will be meeting a group of surgeons to discuss whether a surgery is necessary. I would greatly appreciate if you could share your survival experience.

my dad just got diagnosed with esophageal cancer the report so far is beginning stages waiting on CT scan for staging but as you can imagine we are very scared first of what the ct scan will show and second the surgery that the gastric doctor said is the best option for him since it is in the early stage. I am trying to keep my faith at this point

Good luck to you, your Dad and the rest of your family. This is a tough time for you all, but know that people DO get through it. Early stage esophageal cancer is curable; the earlier the stage, the better the odds of complete recovery.

Surgery isn't a lot of fun, but new techniques are being implemented constantly. The latest is robot assisted surgery with the DaVinci machine. Minimally invasive procedures have been around for awhile and have been very successful as well.

Even if your Dad goes in for "the biggie" - an Ivor Lewis esophagectomy - it's survivable. I had my Ivor Lewis done more than 7.5 years ago and am doing very well today.

I had "the biggie" - Ivor Lewis esophagectomy on March 3rd of this year. I am only 38 and had stage 2. I went through chemo and radiation prior to my surgery in hope to prevent any spreading of the cancer. I am now back at work, but I have to admit the surgery is not fun. I am still in a little pain but I just keep hoping it gets better.

I had the 'biggie" at age 48. Three days after surgery a nurse came into my room in ICU and jammed an NG tube down my throat and punctured my stomach in two places. I developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Now only one half of one lung is functioning. I was Stage 3. I have had an incredibly hard time gaining weight. I was in the Mayo Clinic for four months in MN. Do you have any thoughts as to how to gain weight? I was a Pro Athlete prior to getting cancer.

There are several different surgical approaches used for esophageal cancer. The end result is the same - removal of most of the esophagus and surrounding lymph nodes, pulling the stomach up into the chest and reattaching the stomach to the remains of the esophagus.

Most invasive surgical approaches start with an incision from the belly button up to below the sternum. A general surgeon goes in to "mobilize" the stomach - cut it free from attached tissue - and its blood supply. Next, a thoracic surgeon uses one of the approaches to gain access to the esophagus and remove it. The surgeon pulls the stomach up into the chest, forms it into a tube (a stomaphagous as one person in another forum calls it!) and attaches it to the remains of the esophagus with the site being known as an anastomosis.

During an Ivor Lewis (TTE), the surgeon approaches the esophagus through a sweeping incision in the back that reaches from the right shoulder blade down to the right armpit. In a Transhiatal Esophagectomy (THE), the surgeon uses an incision in the area of the lower throat. Robot assisted and minimally invasive esophagectomies (MIE) are done through a series of small incisions in the upper chest.

It's not a lot of fun, but it is survivable. Most of us who have had the surgery return to work - part time, in most cases - 2 months after surgery. Most of us spend from 7 to 10 days in the hospital recovering from surgery and most are feeling pretty good anywhere from 6 to 12 months after it's all over.

I'm curious as to how you are doing? Did you do surgery? My husband has stage 4 EC(dx 7-18-08) and he chose chemo (24/7 wearing a fanny pack) along with radiation daily x 30days, then a cooling off period and ultimate surgery, lap assisted esophagectomy on 11-28-08. He had major complications, spent 2 months in ICU and went right to the edge of life, but hung on. He is now recouperating in a nursing home, 02 continuously due to lung damage by chemo/rad/surgery, walks with a walker and can't eat anything so of course, his J-tube is providing everything. He's got an absess above his lung so they might go in and do another endoscopy and put a stent in his throat.....argh..........can only imagine how lovely that will be. Murphy's Law seems to be hoovering, but he's still alive and for that we are greatful.
How are YOU doing?

My husband was first diagnosed with State 2 and underwent chemo and radiation the. that was 2005. September 16, 2008 it was back, at Stage 1, we have been back and forth with doctors and hospitals since then. He is going to have the Transhaital Esophagectomy. I a wondering
about when I bring him home, what kind of food should I have on hand? Is he still going to be fed thru a tube. This is so scarry. Will he be on a soft diet for a long time, will he be able to do anything such as, snow removal, wouldn't that be too much of a strain on him? He
thinks he'll be able to do it. He does know he won't be able to drive for a while. How long
is that problem in effect?

Will he be able to sleep in bed, or should he sleep in the recliner? How will be take his meds, thru a tube or will he be able to swollow them?

I don't know what else to ask, if you have any other ideas, please share - I know there must be things I'm missing.

Thank you for any information you give, it is greatly appreciated. Selma O

Mine is "high grade squamous dysplasia" and several specialists recommend surgey to remove the esophagus. Although it is not yet cancerous they say it will soon become stage one. This scares the daylight out of me. Any suggestions?

J_MAC, my suggestion to you would be to listen to the specialists. My surgery recovery was fairly easy, I was on a feeding tube for a few weeks, but then was able to begin eating quite normally.....I am 6 months out from my surgery and am doing quite well. I am nauseous quite often, but believe it is from the chemotherapy not from surgery. I was diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer, and if you can prevent yours from turning into cancer, I would say it would be the best choice you have ever made. I have found my radiation and chemotherapy treatments to be a lot longer road than my surgery was. Good luck, and I wish you the best!

Two years ago the gastro dr did an epidectomy against his better judgement but to my insistence. They found a level 3 erosive esophagus. They put me on nexium 1 a day. 3 months later they did another and it was better but not good. They increased nexium to 2 a day.
A new gastro dr did a test last year, said esophagus looks great. Nexium 1 a day.
Now I have a WBC of 14.8, neutrophils of 73, 452 white blood cell count, and lots of pain in my esophagus. I am supposed to see gastro dr Wed.
The local MD said to prepare myself for leukemia.
Does any of this sound familiar? What did you do?
I heard I should just give up. There was not hope. I dont want anyone around me because they are all negative.
Sharon

This sounds very similar to my case. I met with the head cardiothoracic surgeon and the head GI Oncologist at Duke University at the same time. They had reviewed all my labs told me that my best bet was to remove the "infected" organs since chemo would most likely prove ineffective for me.
I was very scared! I had my crying lags and then I did research. I research everything to death. Unfortunately everything I read online sounded very ominous and didn’t really reassure me much.
I went ahead and scheduled my surgery for Monday July 7th, 2008 anyways. I planned a big BBQ with friends and family for last 4th of July and ate all I could since I knew I wouldn't be eating for a while post op. :D I had a J-tube for food and medications for a few weeks after surgery but was then able to progress to a liquid diet and am now eating regular foods though much smaller portions.

It hasn’t always been fun but I definitely don’t regret going through this procedure. Even though my tumor was only a Stage 1 it was large and had the potential to become life threatening. I am a pediatric nurse and have had many oncology patients in the past. I have seen how fast cancer stages can progress and ultimately I trusted the physicians I saw. If you are still unsure on your physician’s recommendation then I would suggest going for a second opinion and preferably one in a completely different area, i.e. another town or even state.
Best Wishes!
Amber

Two years ago the gastro dr did an epidectomy against his better judgement but to my insistence. They found a level 3 erosive esophagus. They put me on nexium 1 a day. 3 months later they did another and it was better but not good. They increased nexium to 2 a day.
A new gastro dr did a test last year, said esophagus looks great. Nexium 1 a day.
Now I have a WBC of 14.8, neutrophils of 73, 452 white blood cell count, and lots of pain in my esophagus. I am supposed to see gastro dr Wed.
The local MD said to prepare myself for leukemia.
Does any of this sound familiar? What did you do?
Sharon

My father had stage 2 and started with Chemo and radiation. After a petscan they determined the cancer was dead, but the surgery still needed to take place. The went thru the stomach and the side of his neck to remove most of the esophagus and to form the stomach into a tube and attach it to the remaining piece of the esophagus in the neck. He is really nervous about the life changes. For about 4-5 weeks he will be fed thru a feeding tube. Is there anyone he can talk to that has gone thru a similar situation? He would like to be able to talk to someone to find out what life is like after sugery. Please let me know. Thanks

Your father's surgery sounds pretty much like the same surgery I had, an incision in the stomach and the neck. I had all of my esophagus removed, and my stomach pulled up into a tube and attached. I had stage 3 cancer, and also went through radiation and chemo. After the few weeks on the feeding tube he will start taking a few bites of softer food at a time to make sure all goes down well, and then he will gradually be able to eat various foods. I am a few months out from surgery, it was in October, and I am able to eat anything I want to....with limited amounts of sugar due to a thing they call dumping syndrome, although I am able to eat more sugar now than I was closer to the surgery. Also, eating smaller meals several times throughout the day will be ideal, as he obviously has less room in his stomach. I am only 24, 23 at the time of surgery, and have not had to make many life changes because of the surgery other than just eating in smaller portions and not being able to have quite the sweet tooth I did before. I did lose some weight, but am putting it back on now that I am able to eat more. Hope this helps!! Anything else, please ask!

You're right...surgery is scary. You guys will get through it just fine though!! and remember, I should be around on the day of his surgery, so check in, I'd like to know how it's going!! I'll check my facebook that day too. :0) Hope you're having a good day!

I need encourgement william has scared the poop out of me but yet i see living proof of you and him, I know these tubes won't be forever, but knowing and thinking the worst and sitting all day is the worse. I will try to check in thursday night or friday. i will have mylaptop so i plan to check in.

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